Paul Adom Otchere has backed the Vice President in his analysis of the economy in times of crises that befell the erstwhile Mahama administration and what the Akufo-Addo administration is dealing with now.
According to Adom-Otchere who hosts Good Evening Ghana, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s comparison was not "apples and oranges" but rather it is economic crisis and the variations that followed it.
The Good Evening Ghana host noted on his show on Tuesday that, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will find solace in the kind of investments their administration has done with respect to cushioning Ghanaians for prosperity.
He explained that the Akufo-Addo-led administration had to restore the nurses and teachers training allowances, “That’s taking money from the kitty to pay nurses and teachers. They will say that they have spent money to pay free SHS i.e. looking after secondary school students all over the country starting from year one, two and three. Distribution of Ambulances to all the constituencies or districts…”
This, Adom Otchere believes is an investment the Akufo-Addo administration has done from the national kitty; something the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) didn’t make whilst in government.
“In spite of making these investments the NPP government made sure that the country exited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in normal times,” Adom-Otchere explained further.
On the part of the NDC, Paul indicated that the opposition during their time in government was able to invest in infrastructure; something that has really helped since the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in Ghana.
“Even if the NDC didn’t pay nurses and teachers training allowances, even if they didn’t pay free SHS, even if they didn’t get the Ambulances, the NDC was able to invest in health infrastructure,” he added.
Paul Adom-Otchere further stated that the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus forced the ruling party to borrow money from the IMF.
This money the government borrowed, Paul observed, has been invested back into the people of Ghana in terms of providing free water to all Ghanaians for three months, reduction in electricity prices, and has made it free for lifeline consumers, stimulus package of GHC600 million for businesses and the domestic production of PPEs (personal protective equipment) for our health workers locally.
The vice president has been criticized for questioning what the NDC did during their administration to solve the Dumsor, which was a local crisis, which according to the vice president, was created by the NDC itself.
Paul Adom-Otchere